In the world of diving, they are the rebels and free spirits.
Instead of using a board over a pool, high divers compete outdoors, leaping from 27m in a sport that developed from daredevil jumps off cliffs. Twisting and somersaulting in the air, they fall so fast that the water can cause serious injury if the landing goes wrong.
High diving’s popularity is growing, but with that comes challenges. As they bid for a place in the Olympic spotlight, the rebels are becoming part of the establishment, but they say they will not lose their identity.
“We’re definitely the divers who want to play around and do their own thing,” said Britain’s Gary Hunt, who started off in the more regimented world of the pool before becoming one of high diving’s biggest names. “If you just listen to what your coach tells you to do, you will never learn the skills to become a cliff diver or a high diver. You have to want to play around on your own, so you get playful personalities.”
Hunt is the favorite to win a gold medal today in high diving’s second appearance at the FINA World Championships, where it rubs shoulders with swimming and traditional diving on the program.
Recent years have seen a flood of extreme sports join the Olympic program and high divers hope to be next. High diving is constantly evolving and Hunt has been at the forefront of the change, introducing new dives in much the same way as snowboarders like US star Shaun White demonstrate new and bigger tricks.
High diving will not be on the program for the Rio Olympics, but the Tokyo 2020 Games are the target for Hunt and others.
At a time when the International Olympic Committee is keener than ever on gender equality, one key hurdle is to attract more women into the sport. At the worlds this week, there are 20 competitors in the men’s event, but only 10 competing for women’s gold. At high diving’s world championship debut in Barcelona two years ago, there were 13 men and just six women.
“We were hoping for Rio next year, so we keep pushing each year, putting the word out for all the ladies out there,” Los Angeles-based high diver David Colturi said. “We need more girls from more countries, so hopefully that happens and we can get it in the Olympics in Tokyo.”
Commercially, high diving has developed away from the sports establishment. Instead of international aquatics federation FINA, which oversees traditional diving, high divers’ main backer is energy drink company Red Bull, whose Cliff Diving World Series has brought the sport to a new audience in typically spectacular locations. It has also allowed some divers to turn fully professional, dropping side jobs in circus shows or as stuntmen.
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